How To Bring Home a Date When You Have a Roommate

Having a date over to your place for the first time is nerve-racking enough without having to worry about your embarrassing roommate.

You Will Need

• Careful planning
• Diplomatic skills
• A little luck
• Some snacks and drinks to offer your guest

Step 1: Tell roommate

Tell your roommate that you will be bringing a date home. Hopefully, this will ensure that you don’t happen upon any unwanted surprises.

Step 2: Establish a code

Establish a code that you’ll use when you want the roommate to excuse himself. Ideally, it should be a phrase that will flow smoothly into the conversation, like, “Would you like something to eat?”

Speaking of food, make sure your roommate knows that the fine Champagne and goose liver pate in the fridge are not for him.

Step 3: Forewarn your date

Forewarn your date about any of your housemate’s weird traits and tics. It helps if they’re prepared for the worst.

This is your opportunity to blame anything embarrassing about your dwelling—like the stained carpeting or garbage bin brimming with beer cans—on your roomie.

Step 4: Find things in common

Come up with a few things your date and your roommate have in common so you won’t face awkward silence once the introductions are made.

Have your roommate present the snacks and drinks with an ease that says, “We enjoy this civilized ritual every night.”

Step 5: Laugh at roomie's expense

Enjoy a few laughs at your roomie’s expense when he leaves the room. Unwarranted cruelty is always a great way to bond.

In one poll, 12% of renters said they liked having a roommate so much they wouldn’t rent without one.